Aircraft often utilize flight information systems, such as displays, for navigation. One such display used today is a vertical situation display for showing a vertical view along a current flight path of the aircraft to gain understanding of the vertical terrain along the aircraft's current flight path. Although the vertical situation display may show a vertical view along the aircraft's current flight path, the vertical situation display may not show a vertical view of a modified but not executed route of the aircraft, and of an inactive route of the aircraft. As a result, it may be difficult to understand differences, such as in the vertical terrains, between an aircraft's current flight path, a modified but not executed route, and an inactive route.
Moreover, today's vertical situation displays may display information along the aircraft's current flight path, but the reference location of the vertical situation display may always be tied to the airplane position. The vertical situation display may not allow for the reference location of the vertical situation display to be changed. This may make flight planning in reference to down-path locations difficult.
Additionally, today's aircraft may not have vertical situation displays and lateral displays which show corresponding horizontal and vertical views along the aircraft's changing flight path, including along the aircraft's current flight path, along the aircraft's modified but not executed route, and along the aircraft's inactive route. This may further add to the difficulty of flight planning.
If there was a method for the vertical situation display to display not only a current path of the aircraft, but also to display a modified but not executed route of the aircraft, and of an inactive route of the aircraft, it would aid flight planning efforts. Moreover, if there was a method for the vertical situation display to change its reference location to various down-path reference locations, and to view it with high resolution information, it may help a user to understand the current or planned vertical path, may help the user understand the information, and may help the user make decisions about potentially modifying the flight path. Finally, flight planning would be less difficult if there was a method for providing vertical situation displays and lateral displays which show corresponding vertical and horizontal views along the aircraft's changing flight path, including along the aircraft's current flight path, along the aircraft's modified but not executed route, and along the aircraft's inactive route.
A flight information system and method of displaying flight information is needed which may solve one or more issues of one or more of the conventional flight information systems and methods.